Mast Young Plants Enlists New Innovations Manager

Posted by Brian Sparks|November 1, 2018

Big changes are coming to the Innovating Department at Mast Young Plants in Michigan. Rose Oberholtzer, previously a section grower for Neal Mast Greenhouse, has taken on a new challenge as Mast Young Plants’ new Innovation Manager.

Oberholtzer earned a Bachelor’s of Science in Horticulture at Michigan State University (MSU), with a concentration was in Landscape Design, Construction, and Management. She has been in the horticulture industry proper for three years. At MSU, she worked in the Plant Sciences Greenhouse for a year before working at the Demonstration Gardens until she graduated.

Oberholtzer’s previous experience prepared her for this new role in the following ways: As a grower, she learned a lot about how to grow plants optimally for the purpose of sale. This not only gave her a good foundation for growing plants in general, but allowed her to see the challenges growers face in the industry. Working in a research capacity now is allowing her to find ways to overcome those challenges.

When asked what about the biggest challenges the industry faces, Oberholtzer says it’s visibility.

“It is important to interact with our communities to foster interest in our industry,” she says. “Our greatest opportunity is automation. As we struggle to find talent to fill our vacancies, the development of horticultue-specific automation is a promising solution.”